Jack Welch

Jack Welch, one of corporate America's most admired chieftains, is being paid a $7.1-million advance for a book due out next year, when he retires as chairman of General Electric Co. The advance, which Welch intends to donate to charity, is believed to be the largest ever paid for a nonfiction book. Time Warner Trade Publishing, a division of Time Warner Inc., beat three other publishing houses in a bidding war that ended this week.

General Electric Co. violated the law by failing to fully disclose to investors the many retirement perks lavished on former Chief Executive Jack Welch, the Securities and Exchange Commission said Thursday. The millions of dollars in benefits included unlimited personal use of GE's planes, exclusive use of an $11-million apartment in New York City, a chauffeured limousine, a leased Mercedes, office space, financial services, bodyguard security and security systems for his homes.

Longtime General Electric Co. Chairman Jack Welch, who helped shape the international conglomerate into the world's most valuable company, said Thursday that he will retire at the company's Sept. 7 board meeting. The announcement came as the company announced a 15% increase in second-quarter income, meeting Wall Street's expectations. Welch, 65, planned to retire in April but deferred his departure to shepherd the $41-billion merger of GE and Honeywell International Inc.

August 13, 2001 | HENRY A. WAXMAN, U.S. Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-Los Angeles) is a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee

For all the controversy over what did or didn't happen in the last election, one fact is absolutely clear: The pivotal presumption that George W. Bush won the election was the result of the calls the major television networks made on election night. Once those calls were announced, the nearly impossible burden of reversing the presumption shifted to Al Gore. His legal case was made all the harder by the label "sore loser" instead of "defending champion." That's no small thing.

Despite overseeing massive layoffs and selling and buying billions of dollars worth of businesses, Jack Welch says in his new book he was too cautious--even timid--as General Electric Co.'s chief executive. Welch, who releases "Jack: Straight From the Gut" today, earned the unwanted nickname "Neutron Jack" after tens of thousands of job cutbacks in the 1980s. He sold cherished GE operations and boldly bought new ones, including RCA, which owned the NBC television network.

Jack Welch, the recently retired chairman of General Electric Co., is preaching his "tough love" management practices and handing out tips on the global economy, the future of the Internet and other topics these days.

May 9, 1993 | LINDA GRANT, Linda Grant's last piece for this magazine was on the K - mart-Wal - Mart rivalry. She recently left The Times for U.S. News & World Report

CHARLIE RUITER, A HEAVYSET UNION OFFICER WITH A GAUCHO hat perched rakishly above steely eyes, stays in touch with his constituents at General Electric's Lynn, Mass., plants by wheeling around in a pickup strewn with papers, its ashtray overflowing. Ruiter represents Local 201, International Union of Electrical Workers, at GE's aircraft-engine and power-systems facilities.

Author Ken Auletta had been scheduled to begin his book tour Wednesday with an appearance on the "Today" show. But his publisher recently was notified that the appearance on the NBC morning show--considered the best TV venue for selling books--had been canceled. ABC's "Good Morning America" and "CBS This Morning" also have passed on the book, although it has been praised by reviewers.

Jack Welch is throwing his support - such as it is - behind Jamie Dimon, the embattled leader of JPMorgan Chase & Co. Dimon is scrambling to hang on to the chairmanship of his company in the aftermath of an embarrassing trading mishap by the now-infamous "London Whale" that has blotted Dimon's once-unassailable record. Dimon remains chief executive of the banking giant. But critics are pressing JPMorgan to separate the CEO and chairman roles. Corporate-governance advocates say such moves help prevent a powerful leader, even a visionary or successful one, from amassing too much clout in the boardroom.

Capping one of the most closely watched corporate-succession dramas ever, General Electric Co. on Monday tapped the head of its medical systems group to replace legendary Chief Executive John F. "Jack" Welch Jr. when Welch retires at the end of next year. The naming of Jeffrey R. Immelt, 44, concludes a selection process that was eagerly awaited not only by the business world but also by millions of GE customers, suppliers, employees and stockholders.